{"id":17567,"date":"2017-01-03T18:55:00","date_gmt":"2017-01-03T18:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/what-christians-are-finding-as-they-return-to-the-nineveh-plain-10438\/"},"modified":"2017-01-03T18:55:00","modified_gmt":"2017-01-03T18:55:00","slug":"what-christians-are-finding-as-they-return-to-the-nineveh-plain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/01\/what-christians-are-finding-as-they-return-to-the-nineveh-plain\/","title":{"rendered":"What Christians are finding as they return to the Nineveh Plain"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

<\/p>\n

Mosul, Iraq, Jan 3, 2017 \/ 11:55 am (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- As villages on Iraq\u2019s Nineveh Plain are liberated from Islamic State forces, the Christians who lived there have returned, only to find destruction and betrayal.<\/p>\n

\u201c(When) we went to see what happened to our hometowns, we could not believe the hatred and the revenge that ISIS has against us,\u201d said Sister Diana Momeka, a nun with the Dominican Sisters of Saint Catherine of Siena who ministers to those displaced by ISIS.<\/p>\n

Sister Diana had taught at St. Ephrem Seminary in Bakhdida, Iraq before ISIS invaded in the summer of 2014 and drove out the region\u2019s Christians. The destruction, she told CNA, was \u201cbeyond imagination.\u201d<\/p>\n

After ISIS took over much of Northern Iraq in 2014, tens of thousands of refugees fled eastward into Iraqi Kurdistan. Many have been living in temporary housing unfit for the winter season, relying upon aid groups for their basic needs.<\/p>\n

Some of the Christians came from the Nineveh Plain, which lies between the city of Mosul \u2013 Iraq\u2019s second-largest city and the current site of conflict between ISIS occupiers and coalition forces fighting to retake it \u2013 to the west and Iraqi Kurdistan to the east.<\/p>\n

Recently, towns on the Nineveh Plain were liberated from ISIS control by a military coalition that included local militia. Christians who had been living in temporary shelters headed back home with joyful hearts, Sister Diana said.<\/p>\n

But what they saw when they arrived home broke their hearts. Evidence of ISIS\u2019 hatred and revenge was everywhere in the destruction of their homes. Graffiti on the walls of churches made threats like \u201cwe\u2019re going to break your crosses\u201d and \u201cyou have no place with us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a total mess,\u201d Sister Diana said. \u201cThere was some hope to have a future,\u201d she noted, but \u201cwe feel that there\u2019s no future left for the Christians. It\u2019s kind of a sign for us, \u2018you should leave, we\u2019ve destroyed everything you have.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Christians found that even their neighbors had betrayed them. \u201cWe discovered so many of our documents and our belongings at their places,\u201d Sister Diana said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a genocide against us because they left us with nothing at all,\u201d she said of ISIS.<\/p>\n

Many residents still face the struggle of rebuilding their homes and villages, reconciling with their neighbors, and establishing security. It is a race against time to rebuild their homes before everyone chooses to leave Iraq, said Fr. Benham Benoka, president of the Humanitarian Nineveh Relief Organization<\/a> which Sister Diana works with.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo many families are leaving Iraq,\u201d he told CNA. And the situation is even worse for those families who have left and are currently stranded in Lebanon, Turkey, and Jordan.<\/p>\n

Christians in the region need housing, employment, education, and treatment for medical and mental health issues, and Fr. Benham\u2019s organization is doing its best to provide for their needs. The relief organization has provided over 200,000 patients with free health care, as well as other types of aid.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe faith of the people is strong, even if they are leaving the country or they are staying there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut they\u2019re still praying, they still have hope in a big miracle for their lives,\u201d he added of the patients.<\/p>\n

Pope Francis, who in 2014 called Fr. Benoka and told him \u201cI am with you in prayer always. I never forget you,\u201d sent a container of medical supplies to the group in November, Fr. Benoka said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe thank him from our hearts,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Others displaced from their homes by violence may not be able to return home yet, or various reasons. They may fear for their security, particularly after their neighbors betrayed them to ISIS.<\/p>\n

The Syrian Catholic prelate of Mosul recently told the group Aid to the Church in Need that Muslim neighbors burned down 75 percent of Christian homes in the villages that have been freed from ISIS control.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are afraid that we will have to continue to live with these people. We impatiently awaited liberation, and many wanted to return immediately, but there first need to be guarantees for our safety,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Fr. Benoka estimated that \u201cif the situation continues as it is now,\u201d in two years the region could be empty of Christians. \u201cThe cradle of Christianity will be empty,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

His relief organization has \u201cgrown day after day,\u201d he said, \u201cbecause of the continual needs of the people who need health care.\u201d They have received support from friends and other Christian non-governmental organizations.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not easy\u201d to meet all the needs of the displaced families, he said. \u201cIt\u2019s very, very difficult, and we need, really, the support of everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mosul, Iraq, Jan 3, 2017 \/ 11:55 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- As villages on Iraq’s Nineveh Plain are liberated from Islamic State forces, the Christians who lived there have returned, only to find destruction and betrayal.<\/p>\n

“(When) we went to see …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17567","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-middle-east-africa"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Christians are finding as they return to the Nineveh Plain<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Mosul, Iraq, Jan 3, 2017 \/ 11:55 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- As villages on Iraq’s Nineveh Plain are liberated from Islamic State forces, the Christians who lived there have returned, only to find destruction and betrayal. “(When) we went to see ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/01\/what-christians-are-finding-as-they-return-to-the-nineveh-plain\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Christians are finding as they return to the Nineveh Plain\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mosul, Iraq, Jan 3, 2017 \/ 11:55 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- As villages on Iraq’s Nineveh Plain are liberated from Islamic State forces, the Christians who lived there have returned, only to find destruction and betrayal. “(When) we went to see ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/01\/what-christians-are-finding-as-they-return-to-the-nineveh-plain\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Catholic News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-01-03T18:55:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/images\/Destroyed_church_Credit_Humanitarian_Nineveh_Relief_Organization_CNA.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"CNA Daily News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"CNA Daily News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/01\/what-christians-are-finding-as-they-return-to-the-nineveh-plain\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/01\/what-christians-are-finding-as-they-return-to-the-nineveh-plain\/\",\"name\":\"What Christians are finding as they return to the Nineveh Plain\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-01-03T18:55:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-01-03T18:55:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1\"},\"description\":\"Mosul, Iraq, Jan 3, 2017 \/ 11:55 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- As villages on Iraq’s Nineveh Plain are liberated from Islamic State forces, the Christians who lived there have returned, only to find destruction and betrayal. “(When) we went to see ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/01\/what-christians-are-finding-as-they-return-to-the-nineveh-plain\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/01\/what-christians-are-finding-as-they-return-to-the-nineveh-plain\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/01\/what-christians-are-finding-as-they-return-to-the-nineveh-plain\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What Christians are finding as they return to the Nineveh Plain\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/\",\"name\":\"Catholic News\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1\",\"name\":\"CNA Daily News\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"CNA Daily News\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/author\/cna-daily-news\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What Christians are finding as they return to the Nineveh Plain","description":"Mosul, Iraq, Jan 3, 2017 \/ 11:55 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- As villages on Iraq’s Nineveh Plain are liberated from Islamic State forces, the Christians who lived there have returned, only to find destruction and betrayal. “(When) we went to see ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/01\/what-christians-are-finding-as-they-return-to-the-nineveh-plain\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What Christians are finding as they return to the Nineveh Plain","og_description":"Mosul, Iraq, Jan 3, 2017 \/ 11:55 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- As villages on Iraq’s Nineveh Plain are liberated from Islamic State forces, the Christians who lived there have returned, only to find destruction and betrayal. “(When) we went to see ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/01\/what-christians-are-finding-as-they-return-to-the-nineveh-plain\/","og_site_name":"Catholic News","article_published_time":"2017-01-03T18:55:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/images\/Destroyed_church_Credit_Humanitarian_Nineveh_Relief_Organization_CNA.jpg"}],"author":"CNA Daily News","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"CNA Daily News","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/01\/what-christians-are-finding-as-they-return-to-the-nineveh-plain\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/01\/what-christians-are-finding-as-they-return-to-the-nineveh-plain\/","name":"What Christians are finding as they return to the Nineveh Plain","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-01-03T18:55:00+00:00","dateModified":"2017-01-03T18:55:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1"},"description":"Mosul, Iraq, Jan 3, 2017 \/ 11:55 am (CNA\/EWTN News).- As villages on Iraq’s Nineveh Plain are liberated from Islamic State forces, the Christians who lived there have returned, only to find destruction and betrayal. “(When) we went to see ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/01\/what-christians-are-finding-as-they-return-to-the-nineveh-plain\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/01\/what-christians-are-finding-as-they-return-to-the-nineveh-plain\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2017\/01\/what-christians-are-finding-as-they-return-to-the-nineveh-plain\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What Christians are finding as they return to the Nineveh Plain"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/","name":"Catholic News","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/35d4bd7addc580050842c844a11575f1","name":"CNA Daily News","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8f1180c7dca7995d4a997aac72a3a88a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"CNA Daily News"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/author\/cna-daily-news\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17567","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1031"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17567"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17567\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}